Phosphorus-43

Properties and data of the isotope ⁴³P.

Contents

Phosphorus-43 is a radioisotope of the chemical element phosphorus, which has 28 neutrons in its atomic nucleus in addition to the element-specific 15 protons; the sum of the number of these atomic nucleus building blocks results in a mass number of 43. The very short-lived, only artificially produced, unstable and thus radioactive nuclide has no practical significance; the study of ⁴³P is exclusively for academic purposes.

The discovery of the neutron-rich isotope was first reported in 1989. Phosphorus-43 was observed when a tantalum sample was irradiated with calcium-48 with an energy of 55 MeV/u [1].

See also: List of individual Phosphorus isotopes (and general data sources).

General data

Name of the isotope:Phosphorus-43; P-43Symbol:⁴³P or 4315PMass number A:43 (= number of nucleons)Atomic number Z:15 (= number of protons)Neutrons N:28Nucleon pairing (Z - N):odd - evenNuclear ratio (N/Z ratio):1.8666666666667 (= neutron-proton ratio)Neutron excess (N-Z):13Isotopic mass:43.00541(32) u (atomic weight of Phosphorus-43)Nuclide mass:42.9971814 u (calculated nuclear mass without electrons)Mass excess:5.03938 MeVMass defect:0.354583128 u (per nucleus)Nuclear binding energy:330.29205623 MeV (per nucleus)
7.68121061 MeV (average binding energy per nucleon)Separation energy:S_N = 4.123(315) MeV (first neutron)
S_P = 19.088(424) MeV (first proton)Half-life:36.5(15) msDecay constant λ:18.990333713971 s^-1Specific activity α:2.659592200063 × 10⁺²³ Bq g^-1
7188087027199.2 Ci g^-1Spin and parity:
(nuclear angular momentum)1/2+Year of discovery:1989

Radioactive Decay

Half-life T_½ = 36.5(15) ms respectively 3.65 × 10^-2 seconds s.

Decay mode	Daughter	Probability	Decay energy
β^-	⁴³S		17.24(30) MeV
β^-, n	⁴²S		14.607(300) MeV
β^-, 2n ?	⁴¹S	?

Isotones and Isobars

The following table shows the atomic nuclei that are isotonic (same neutron number N = 28) and isobaric (same nucleon number A = 43) with Phosphorus-43. Naturally occurring isotopes are marked in green; light green = naturally occurring radionuclides.

Z	Isotone N = 28	Isobar A = 43
11	³⁹Na
12	⁴⁰Mg
13	⁴¹Al	⁴³Al
14	⁴²Si	⁴³Si
15	⁴³P	⁴³P
16	⁴⁴S	⁴³S
17	⁴⁵Cl	⁴³Cl
18	⁴⁶Ar	⁴³Ar
19	⁴⁷K	⁴³K
20	⁴⁸Ca	⁴³Ca
21	⁴⁹Sc	⁴³Sc
22	⁵⁰Ti	⁴³Ti
23	⁵¹V	⁴³V
24	⁵²Cr	⁴³Cr
25	⁵³Mn	⁴³Mn
26	⁵⁴Fe
27	⁵⁵Co
28	⁵⁶Ni
29	⁵⁷Cu
30	⁵⁸Zn
31	⁵⁹Ga
32	⁶⁰Ge